by Communications Coordinator | May 13, 2022 | Category 1, Category 2, Category 3, Primary school news, Secondary School news, Sixth Form News
On Wednesday 11th May, our College held the first edition of the special Years of Service Awards Ceremony for members of staff who have generously served at College for more than 25 years.
It was a great opportunity to be grateful for all members of staff. We also celebrated the Ignatian anniversary and coming out of a two-year pandemic period which was challenging for all.
Well done to all the organisers and the whole educational community!
***
by Communications Coordinator | May 9, 2022 | Category 1, Category 2, Category 3, Secondary School news
The Secondary School chose this Ignatian Year to launch the regular practice of the Examen in our school day. The Consciousness Examen is a prayer which St. Ignatius recommended to be done every day in order to learn to seek and find God in our daily life. The experience has been called ‘Connecting with God’ using the metaphor of the Wi-Fi and technology so that students can relate to the concepts better.
This prayer involves six simple steps. Before the prayer it is important to Connect with God by taking a good position and a few deep breaths to calm down and enter into God’s presence.
Then the first step is to Ask for God’s light (Logging in) and asking God to help us see how he was present in our life.
‘Like’ is the step where we see what we are grateful for and thanking God for them.
The longest part of the prayer is to look back over the day (Scan and Search) to identify moments where God was present by looking out for moments when we felt full of faith, hope and love. We also identify moments when we were not Christ like or where we lost connecting with God.
Chat: An important part is to speak to God as a friend speaks to a friend: to rejoice over the good moments of our lives but also to ask pardon for the moments when we veered away.
The last step is looking forward to the next day to Stay Connected. What attitude do we want to live our life with? What graces do we need from God to do so?
Students have responded well to the exercise of prayer, even because in the primary school there has also been a weekly practice of the examen. Many class teachers have commented that following the practice of the Examen, the class is more focused and attentive and students are calmer.
Connecting with God has been introduced in the first 10 minutes of class meetings which happen every three weeks. This year it is led by members of the Chaplaincy Team. Class teachers have been instrumental in helping set up the right atmosphere for this exercise to take off.
We believe that practising the Examen as a prayer more often can change the lives not only of the students and staff but also change the school culture because it becomes more reflective in nature. A card (featured above) has been designed by our Communications Officer and given to the students as a reminder of the steps necessary to carry out this prayer every day.
We encourage all families to do this simple short prayer together at the end of the day.
-Ignatian Formation Team
***
by Communications Coordinator | May 5, 2022 | Category 1, Category 2, Category 3, Secondary School news
Our College aspires “to foster compassionate and responsible men and women with others and for others, committed to the poor and persons in need.”
In order to help our students experience this more actively, the Secondary School has recently launched the People for Others Programme, referred to as POP.
Once a year, students are given the possibility of an immersion experience in a reality within our society which needs more care and justice.
The programme started with the Form 3s, and aims to spread to other Forms in the following years. The reality chosen for 2022 was a service-learning experience with persons who are homeless.
The day starts off with a preparation session at school to identify the aims of the day and the attitudes necessary to live the day well. The students then spend a day at YMCA – Valletta and the Soup Kitchen. During this day they listen to first-hand experiences of persons who went through homelessness, participate in a simulation game to reflect about what it means to be homeless, and also lend a hand at the Soup Kitchen.
Check out photos here
So far, the students have all been very positive about the experience. They commented that they were not aware that homelessness exists in Malta and that anybody could become homeless because of situations that happen to them. The hands-on experience was what struck them most – they felt the satisfaction of being able to be there and do something for others.
Ms Roberta Vella, Assistant Head responsible for Global Citizenship in the Secondary, says:
I am very glad that we managed to set this programme going. We hope that this experience will help students grow in empathy and in social consciousness and commitment.
Ms Christine Rossi, Global Citizenship Coordinator, says:
This is an important step to make the education programme offered at our Secondary School more Ignatian in its quality. A programme like this requires great dedication, energy and commitment, and we will do our best to sustain it throughout all the years so that our students grow to be more compassionate and committed citizens.
***
Recent Comments